3 Early Interventions to Make Employees Happy
Dilbert could have read one of many articles over the last two decades about employee satisfaction and engagement. There is an abundant literature on (1) how to define, conceptualize, and measure employee engagement, (2) how employee engagement drives business outcomes and improves profitability, and (3) the social-psychological antecedents of employee engagement, like the “sense of meaning” that Dilbert is searching for.
But making employees happy and giving them a “sense of meaning” sounds like a tall order, doesn’t it?
Fortunately, researchers have begun exploring and documenting the work-a-day aspects of organizational life that can do this. Professor Teresa Amabile at Harvard Business School, for example, has shown that even in the most difficult work situations, making steady progress towards goals generates additional motivation and positive emotions about work.
Closer to home, Brilliant Ink partnered with Versta Research to document key junctures in the employee lifecycle at which companies can make or break employee satisfaction and engagement. Here are three ways for companies to give employees a true sense of meaning in their work even before they have finished their first day:
1. Provide useful information on the company website for prospects who are considering employment. Our research showed that 82% of knowledge workers visit a company’s website when job hunting, but only 32% find it useful.
2. During interviews, give applicants a super accurate picture of what their daily work will be like. Nearly one-quarter (23%) of employees in our study felt misled, and they were dramatically less engaged in their subsequent work.
3. Plan for each employee’s first day so that it is structured and organized. Feeling welcomed is not enough—our research showed that a confusing first day was strongly associated with lower engagement down the road.
But wait, that’s not all! There are seven more simple steps you can take, and even more insight to be had from this study. An infographic entitled “10 Ways to Improve Your Employee Experience—Right Now” as well as the full report are available on the Brilliant Ink website.
Turns out, giving a sense of meaning to work is not so overwhelming or as nebulous as it sounds. With a little bit of research (for which you can give us a call) and a sincere effort to implement steps like these (for which you can give our colleagues at Brilliant Ink a call) you and your employees will be wondering why on earth so many people find these Dilbert comic strips to be even remotely funny.
